(SOLD) This is an early 1950s Sheaffer Touchdown Valiant (TM) in Black, with gold-filled trim and a 14k gold, two-tone Triumph Broad nib. The pen has been restored, which included a complete disassembly, a thorough cleaning, an overhaul of the filling mechanism, ink flow adjustment, nib tuning, and a gentle polish by hand. I work according to current "best practices" in pen restoration and I use high-quality replacement materials and specialized tools.

The truth is, most vintage pens (made before 1960) come with fine nibs. Medium nibs are rare, but broad nibs are scarce. The simple reason for that is that broad nibs were less practical in daily writing, be it in the office, at home, or at school. Also, the business cursive taught at schools at the time, called for a pen with a fine nib. Broad nibs were typically special-order items, and finding them today is not easy.

If you are a lover of broad, juicy nibs and have been disappointed not to be able to find a vintage pen with such a nib, I have good news for you. This Sheaffer Valiant comes with a fantastic Broad nib. By modern standards, I'd rank it somewhere between a western M and B, but I tuned it wet, so it's going to write a true-to-size broad line for most intents and purposes. A smooth, but confident writer, this nib will bring out the color depth and saturation of your inks. It will make your inks shade and sheen. It will glide across the paper effortlessly, but in a controlled manner, in a typical Triumph fashion. If you've been wanting to add character to your handwriting, look no further.

Sheaffer Touchdown Valiant, B, capped

The pen is in overall excellent condition, without any flaws or defects. Both the plastic and gold-filled trim elements show only very faint surface wear, difficult to see with the naked eye. The ink view section is clear. Frankly, this pen looks as though it was made today and not sixty five years ago. The filling mechanism works efficiently and holds a lot of ink. The Touchdown really was "the easiest pen to fill," as Sheaffer claimed in its advertisements at the time.